Warriors As Humans!
by MrsSykes37
Summary: Ever wandered what Lionblaze, Hollyleaf and Jayfeather would do in their human forms (which every cat has, obviously)? Well, you can find out here in this thrilling FanFiction! Can Lion, Holly and Jay stop a terrible battle and save countless lives? Or will they end up as just a few more corpses on a forest floor fresh with spilled blood? Read on to find out!
1. Author's Note

**Author's Note**

**So this is just an author's note, as always! Not sure what I should write about this, since all of the traditions and stuff are explained later in the book and I don't want to spoil it . . .**

**What the heck, I think I'll just tell you about how I plan to use the basic guidelines of this and get it published in future. No, that wasn't a joke. So I really would appreciate some reviews of constructive criticism, or just what you liked about it, because it actually will help me in future! Thanks for taking the time to read this, and hopefully you enjoy my FanFiction!**

**MrsSykes37.**


	2. Where Have They Gone?

**Warriors As Humans!**

**Chapter One**

"Tag! You're it!" Holly tapped her brother Lion on the shoulder and darted away before he could get her back.

"Not fair!" Lion huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. "You cheated!"

"I did not cheat!" Holly protested, prodding Lion in the belly. "Just because I'm faster than you!"

"But I always loose!" Lion stamped his foot on the ground, causing a wave of dirt to roll at Holly's black skinny jeans. "I don't want to play anymore."

"Spoil-sport," Holly growled, and turned away from him with a contemptuous flick of her long, silky black hair.

She gazed around their campsite, which was set in a sunny forest clearing in the middle of nowhere, just the way she and the rest of her Clan-mates liked it.

There were six tents set up around the clearing – one for warriors (adults from twenty to forty), one for apprentices (teenagers of twelve to nineteen), one for elders (adults of forty-one and over), one for the Clan doctor, Leafpool, one for the Clan leader, Firestar, and one for the children of eleven and under to share with their mothers.

That last tent was where Holly, Lion , their brother Jay and their mother Squirrelflight slept. They did have to share it with a woman called Ferncloud and her two six-year-olds Fox and Ice, but Holly didn't mind. She found their presence comforting, and often shared a sleeping bag with Ice when it got too cold.

It was at that moment that Jay crawled out from the tent, his grey hair blowing in the soft breeze that had picked up. He must have sensed Holly's annoyance, because he rolled his eyes and said "Is Lion acting like a five-year-old again?"

Holly nodded and glanced over her shoulder to where Lion was sitting cross-legged on the dusty floor, picking at the little green shoots that were poking through the rich soil. "No-one would know that he's actually eleven, and going to become an apprentice in three weeks."

At her words, Lion looked up and ran a hand through his short ginger hair. He looked sheepish. "Should we play catch, or something?"

Holly knew that he was just trying to make up for being a brat, so she shrugged and looked at Jay. "It's up to you."

Sightless blue eyes glared back at her as Jay said drily "Yes, and I suppose I'm just going to _magically_ locate the _exact_ position of the ball, the have my fingers _guided_ towards it by _StarClan_. Or have you forgotten that, oh yes, I'm _blind_?"

"No need to get so arsey about it," Holly said hotly, then jogged off towards her tent. "Wait there!" she called over her shoulder as she ducked under the green canvas material.

She found herself in a maze of sleeping bags, blankets, pillows and back-packs, and silently cursed her brothers for not being more orderly.

Navigating her way through the camping apparatus, she found her bag and unzipped it quietly, careful not to wake Ferncloud, Fox and Ice, who were sleeping hidden in the corner. Holly could only locate them by the sound of their breath stirring the sleeping bags.

Everyone in camp was probably still asleep, apart from the dawn patrol. The dawn patrol was a group of people who went and guarded the borders every morning as soon as the sun went up. Holly hadn't seen them leave, but she was assuming her mother had been one of them, since her sleeping bag was cold.

Holly's fingers closed around the ball she had been looking for. She tugged it out of the pack and turned to go, but froze in her tracks as ice sat up blearily.

"Holly, is that you?"

"Just go back to sleep, Ice," Holly said gently.

"But I just had a nightmare! It was terrible, Holly." The little girl looked so downcast and frightened that Holly crawled over to sit next her, pulling her into a warm embrace.

"What happened in it?" Holly asked.

Ice shuddered. "Well, to start with there was you, me, Fox, Jay and Ferncloud, and we were all in this really dark gloomy tunnel with nothing but a torch. Suddenly the walls and ceiling started to cave in, and there this massive rockslide, and then we were stuck! There was nowhere to go apart from this massive cave, so we went in and there was a really dark, rushing waterfall, and then Ferncloud dropped her torch, and it was nothing but darkness, Holly! Just awful, clingy darkness."

The six-year-old shuddered, and Holly gave her a comforting squeeze on the shoulder. "I'm sure it'll be alright," she said soothingly.

Ice gazed at her with worried, doubtful blue eyes, and shook her head. "Are you sure?"

"Positive. Now why don't you try to get some more sleep? For me?"

Ice nodded and curled up again next to her mum, buried in the sleeping bags.

Holly turned and crept back out of the tent, slipping on some boots at the last moment to keep her feet warm.

The cool breeze tugged her loose hair as she emerged from the tent; it had _definitely_ picked up. Holly straightened up, blinking in the sunlight, and tossed the ball at Jay. The little bell inside it jangled, and her brother was able to stretch out his arms and catch the ball.

"Present!" Holly called after it, feeling a warm glow inside her as Jays mouth twisted into a rare delighted smile.

Jay gave a whoop of joy and jumped into the air, which was so out-of –character that Holly had to gawp.

Of course, she was totally un-prepared for the ball that slammed into her face, knocking her to the ground with a _thump!_

"Ouch! I'll get you next time!" Holly had meant it as a threat, but she was laughing too much for it to have any real effect.

"Ooo, I'm scared!" Jay laughed. It made Holly grin to see him like this; usually he was so grumpy and defensive of his blindness, he would bite off someone's head off if they so much as gave him the time of day. He was always convinced that people pitied him, and he hated pity. He always said that he was like any other person, and could do anything a normal person could do if he tried hard enough, and Holly agreed. It was unfair to treat him any differently, just because he had something wrong with his eyes.

Holly picked herself off the ground and dusted off her 3OH!3 t-shirt. 3OH!3 was a band, and she sometimes got picked on for liking them, but she didn't care. Their loss if they were too worried about their social-lives to listen to good music.

She leaned over to pick up the ball, and stopped as a sudden realisation hit her.

"Hey, where's Lion?"

Jay frowned and sniffed the air. "No idea. But now that I think of it . . . where's everyone?"

Just by gazing around, Holly couldn't see anything wrong. "Don't be silly," she chided her brother. "They must still be sleeping . . ." her voice trailed away as she finally noticed the weird echo it was making.

Her first thought? _Uh oh._ But she pushed it away. Nothing bad could have happened . . . could it?

"Let's check the tents," she said anxiously, with a glance at Jay.

Together they checked, but they found no trace of anyone, nor anything to suggest where they had gone. The camp was deserted apart from them, Fox, Ice and Ferncloud. That left four children to protect the camp if there was any trouble, with only one adult to help.

In other words, they were doomed if anything stronger than the wind attacked.

Great.

Holly ducked into her tent again and gently nudged Ferncloud, who stirred sleepily then fixed her light green gaze on Holly.

"What?" she mumbled.

"Wake up," Holly whispered. "We need to ask you something." She beckoned Jay into the tent, and they both settled down among the sleeping bags as Ferncloud sat up and rubbed her eyes drowsily.

"What would you like to ask me?" she queried, her voice kinder now that she was more awake.

Holly wrung her hands. "It's just . . . where is everyone?"

Ferncloud stared at her.

A sharp pain stabbed in Holly's side as Jay elbowed her in the ribs.

"What Holly's _trying_ to say is, we checked all the tents and there's no-one else in the camp. Even Lion's gone."

Holly rubbed her side and glared at her brother. "Yes, thank you, Jay," she said coldly.

"Well, that's odd," Ferncloud's brow furrowed in a frown. "Are you sure you –" her voice broke off as her eyes widened in terror.

"The tunnels!" she screeched, and leapt to her feet. She grabbed some clothes and ran. Holly turned just in time to see her sliver hair flowing behind her as she darted into a little compartment in the tent where she could get changed out of her nightclothes, then turned her head back to see Ice and Fox arousing.

With a glance at Jay, Holly grabbed Ice's hand and lead her, stumbling, out of the tent and into the bright sunlight of the forest clearing. Jay stood beside her with Fox.

"What was that about?" Jay hissed in Holly's ear, but holly shook her head. She had no idea.

The trees around the clearing, that were normally so comforting, seemed to pressing in on them right now, suffocating them. Whatever had happened to her Clan-mates, – and it couldn't be good, judging by Ferncloud's reaction – Holly needed to help them. She couldn't just stand here, knowing that all her friends and family were probably suffering a terrible fate right at that moment. She could tell that Ice felt the same way, because the grip on her hand tightened, and she looked down to see the little girl staring back up at her.

"Holly," she hissed through gritted teeth, so that Jay and Fox couldn't hear her. "Do you think this has anything to do with my dream?"

"That's impossible," Holly assured her uneasily, but the truth was, she really had no clue. Heck, three hours ago, she would have thought it would be impossible for her whole Clan to disappear without a trace, but look what had happened?

The wind was gale-force now, and the sun had disappeared behind a barricade of black clouds, promising a thunderstorm. Holly's hair whipped painfully across her face – she really should have tied it up. However, just as she turned to get a hairband, Ferncloud stepped out of the tent, looking stunning as usual in a loose-fitting blue top and flare jeans, with a pair of black converse sneakers on her feet. The only thing that looked odd was the weird mix of green eyes and silver hair – Holly still hadn't gotten over that.

Jay rolled his eyes. "Finally," he muttered to Holly, and she glared at him, but really she couldn't blame him. She knew how infuriating it was to just stand there and admire the scenery when your Clan-mates were in possible danger.

"Right," Ferncloud said briskly, but Holly could see the fear in her eyes. "Let's get a move on shall we?"


	3. Ferncloud!

**Warriors As Humans!**

**Chapter Two**

**So here is Chapter Two! Reply to Reveiws:**

**Robinwing Of RiverClan - Thanks! I plan to write more chapters, because this is by far my favourite fanfic so far . . . :3 **

**I hope you like the chapter! Oh and i'm really sorry, but hence forth my mum will only let me on my laptop on weekends, so it will take probably about 1 to 2 weeks for the next update. but hey, at least i'm not banned from it all the time! On with the chapter!**

Ferncloud grabbed Fox's hand and set off at a frog march, leaving Holly, Jay and Ice to jog behind and try to keep up.

"Wait, Ferncloud!" Holly called.

"Yes dear?" Ferncloud asked over her shoulder, but didn't stop striding through the closely-set trees.

"You haven't told us where we're going."

Ferncloud sighed and slowed to match Holly's pace. The forest here was normally beautiful, with birds singing and sunlight filtering through the trees, but today it was grey and dismal, and full of shadows.

"At the gathering the other night," Ferncloud started, making sure that everyone was listening, "Onestar, the leader of WindClan, threatened ThunderClan. He said that if we didn't give them a chunk of our territory, bad things would happen. Then yesterday, Onestar and one of his warriors, Crowfeather, visited Firestar and said that if the land wasn't theirs by dawn today, they would attack before sunset."

Jay's eyes widened. "So _that's_ what they were doing at our camp yesterday! I thought they just wanted a chat with Firestar," he added sheepishly.

Ferncloud nodded. She stopped by a gnarled tree trunk that looked worn and weathered, and sat down in front of it. The children copied.

"So anyway, Thornclaw had the _brilliant_ idea," she said drily, "That the whole Clan should go hide in the tunnels. I was against it – the tunnels are way too dangerous! I tried to tell them, but would they listen? No. So –"

"Wait," Holly said, holding up a hand. "There are _tunnels_ in ThunderClan territory?!"

Ferncloud nodded reluctantly. "A whole network of them, just under the soil. You could find one, you know, if you looked hard enough – not that I'm suggesting it! But anyway, I managed to get Dustpelt, Fox and Ice's father, on my side, and I thought that he had managed to convince Firestar not to go through with Thornclaw's plan. I must have been wrong." She let out a weary sigh.

A cold knot of fear settled in Holly's belly. "So ThunderClan has evacuated to the tunnels?"

Slowly nodding her head in confirmation, Ferncloud gazed through the trees. "They could be anywhere. Oh, and did I tell about the other part of Thornclaw's _amazing_ plan?

The four children shook their heads.

"No? Well, the tunnels can take you practically anywhere. They could even take you _inside_ WindClan territory. See where I'm going?"

Holly had an idea, but it was so stupid that she decided not to voice it. She shook her head.

"Well, this is rest of Thornclaw's plan: to sneak into WindClan territory before they get home from the failed attack on ThunderClan, and ambush them at their camp."

Holly gaped like a fish. That had been exactly her idea! But how could ThunderClan do something like that? Surely it was against the Warrior Code?

Jay frowned. "Wait a second – if they were so worried about the attack they actually _evacuated_ camp – why leave us behind?"

Reality hit Ferncloud just then; Holly could tell by the look on the woman's face. "Indeed, Jay, indeed . . ." she broke off into un-comprehendible muttering, then got up and started pacing the tree trunk.

"Well, we were all tucked up into corners of the tent last night, hidden from anyone that entered the tent, weren't we? All except for Squirrelflight . . . and she's the only one that isn't here! They must have been frantic, looking for us that morning, and they must have decided that we'd left the camp for an early walk. Maybe they looked for us on the way, but obviously didn't find us, because we were all safe at camp!" Now Holly got up and started pacing. A slight drizzle had started to fall, and her boots left imprints in the soggy soil.

Jay scowled. "But wouldn't they have sent a scout back to the camp to look for us? I just can't see Firestar leaving us behind, no matter how dim-witted he is."

Ferncloud turned a scorching glare on Jay. "Don't you _dare_ talk about your leader like that! Show some respect! As for the scout . . ."

Frowning, Holly tried to think of a reason. The hair lashing her face and neck was soggy now, what with the rain getting heavier by the minute, and Holly really wished she was in the comfort of her lovely warm tent . . . and then it came to her.

"That's it!" she snapped her fingers, and the others stared at her. "They _did_ send a scout, but just at the wrong time. They must have sent it when I was in the tent, hidden in the corner with Ice! And Jay was . . . standing outside in the open, waiting for me," Holly mumbled that last part. She felt embarrassed. Her great speculation had been wrong, and now the others would probably laugh at her. I mean, how could someone not see an eleven-year-old child standing right in the middle of a campsite? They'd have to be blind.

But Jay was shaking his head. "I was on the toilet," he corrected. "They must have taken Lion, though, since he was sitting on the floor having a sulk."

Holly knew that she would be forever grateful to her brother for that, and she tried to show it in the warm smile she gave him. "That must have been what happened," she agreed.

Taking Ice's hand again, Holly helped the little girl to her feet and turned to Ferncloud. "So, where do we go now?" She asked, staring into the forest.

"Well, that's the question isn't it?" Ferncloud wouldn't meet Holly's gaze, making her instantly suspicious.

Jay felt it too, judging by the look on his face. "Ferncloud," he said slowly. "Do you actually know where we're going?"

Ferncloud was silent. All that could be heard was the endless drumming of rain on the forest floor, and the occasional cry of a startled bird. It was nearly lunch time and they still hadn't found their Clan-mates – Holly tried not to imagine what was happening to them at that moment.

Jay was outraged. "How the hell are we meant to 'rescue' our Clan-mates if we don't even know where they are?" he fumed, stomping around their little clearing furiously. "So much for our 'rescue mission.' It's all just a wild goose chase!"

The look Ferncloud gave him was darker than even Tigerstar's heart. "Now, you listen here, Jay," she spat, all attempts at self-control abandoned. "No, I don't know where we're going – we'll just have to improvise, won't we? It's not my fault; not even Firestar knew where a tunnel entrance was! They had to search for one, and we will too! All you have to do is get up off your fat, lazy backside for one and actually do some work! Or is that too much for you?" not waiting for his answer, Ferncloud stalked off into the trees, dragging Ice and Fox behind her.

The sky was even greyer than when they had left camp. Rain lashed the trees relentlessly, and thunder clapped. Holly was soaking. But the rain hadn't just drenched her clothes; it had drenched her heart in a cold, murky wetness. She was grumpy, tired, and hungry, and quite frankly not in the mood for Ferncloud's excuses.

"Now you listen here, Ferncloud," she shouted, marching into the trees after her and grabbing her arm, making the Queen turn and face her. Normally, she tried to respect the woman that had fed them when Squirrelflight's milk hadn't come, but now, standing in this rain-sodden forest, she snapped. "One, don't you _dare_ talk to my brother like that! And guess what? It _is_ your fault that we're lost. You should have asked, for crying out loud!" Now that she had let out some of her steam, Holly didn't have to say anything else; she was contented with the look of shock that had settled on Ferncloud's face.

Ferncloud stepped forwards and raised her hand, as if to slap the ignorant little girl that had just gobbed off at her. She obviously thought better of it. Her face slackened, and filled with a such a deep anguish that Holly suddenly pitied the frail woman before her.

"Dustpelt," she whispered, and her voice, filled with pain, cracked. She let go of her children's hands, staggered backwards and slumped onto the nearest tree stump, her head in her hands. Deep sobs shook her shoulders and wracked through her body.

"Why did he go, Holly?" she asked, her voice as quiet as the breeze that rustles leaves on a hot summer's day. When she lifted her head from her hands, her face was a tear-stained mess, mascara dripping down her cheeks.

"Because he had to," Holly replied softly, sitting next to Ferncloud and giving her shoulder a comforting squeeze. "He did it to protect you, you know? You, and Fox and Ice."

Jay gave Holly a scorching glare. "What, now you're gonna comfort her? Have you forgotten who got us into this mess?"

Returning his glare with double the fire, Holly promptly ignored him and turned back to Ferncloud.

"Look, Ferncloud, I know you're upset," Holly spoke with more firmness now. "But we're never going to find Dustpelt or anyone else just sit here all day and hope for the best."

More thunder boomed in the silence that followed, until finally Ferncloud straitened her back. Her eyes hardened with resolve. "You're right, Holly."

Ferncloud got up. "We're just gonna have to find the tunnels on out own."

* * *

After half an hour of wondering around the forest, they eventually came to an old, crumbling fox den. Ferncloud's face became a white a sheet.

"I'm going to need to go in quickly and see if it's a tunnel entrance," She explained, not meeting Holly's eyes. She was trying to sound brave for the children's sake, but there was no masking the terror in her eyes. She was fingering one of the beads on her necklace, like she always did when she was nervous.

Holly found her behaviour odd. Even _Fox_ didn't look as scared as she did. "Ferncloud," she asked slowly. "What's up? It's not because of Dustpelt again, is it?"

Giving a tight smile, Ferncloud leant against the side of the fox den. "No it's not. It's just that I'm worried about our Clan-mates . . ." Her voice trailed off unconvincingly. Then she sighed. "Oh, I guess I better tell you. My mother, Brindleface, she died in a tunnel similar to this one when it collapsed on her." She glared at the tunnel loathsomely, as if silently blaming it for the death of her mum.

Holly gasped. Jay's sightless eyes widened. "Will it collapse on _us?_! He exclaimed.

Ferncloud looked utterly hopeless. "There's no telling Jay," shaking her head, she repeated; "Absolutely no telling." Then she stood up a little straighter, shaking off her uneasiness. "That's why I'm going in on my own, and you're going to wait here." Her tone was not to be argued with; so of course, Jay started to argue with her.

"No! We're coming with you!"

Ferncloud shook her head. "No. Wait here, and look after Fox and Ice. I'm going in." And with that she let go of her necklace and turned to go.

"Wait!" Holly caught her arm. "Why have you got a cloud on your necklace?" She pointed at the intricate painting of a storm-cloud on the bead Ferncloud had been playing with.

"It's meant to represent the cloud that covered my heart when my mother died," Ferncloud explained, not looking back at Holly. Then with a last "Wish me luck!" she disappeared into the tunnel.

A rumble of thunder and a flash of lightning followed her departure.

Holly's mind was buzzing. When you became an apprentice, the leader gave you a necklace with three plain white beads on it. During your apprentice years, it was your job to paint one thing on each bead, something significant that had happened to you. When it was your turn to become a Warrior, your leader would name you after one of your painted beads, hence the reason Fern became Ferncloud. Holly wondered what her beads would have on them.

Rain pattered on the ground. Fox shivered. Ice stubbed her toe on a tree root and started to wail. But when she stopped, the silence was deadly.

That is, until it was shattered by Ferncloud's terrified scream.


	4. Prepare Yourself

**Warriors As Humans**

**Chapter Three**

**Hopefully you're enjoying my story so far! **

**Reply to reviews:**

**Sophie Hicks: Thanks :) Just check out my profile**

**ChocolateRain101: Will do! Yeah they do have electroncial stuff, you will find out how soon . . . :3**

**As i said before, reviews are REALLY APPRECIATED! (So basically i'm telling you to review or bad things will happen . . . lol)**

Ice jumped to her feet. "Mum!" She squealed and dashed forwards, obviously trying to get to the tunnel. Jay blocked her way.

"Are you stupid?" he growled, grabbing her arm as she tried to get past him. "Do you really think that whatever hurt Ferncloud is going to leave you alone?"

But Ice wasn't listening. She twisted and flailed in Jay's grip, clawing him with her long fingernails. "Let me _go_!" she screamed frantically.

Jay grunted as her boot caught him in the shin. Why did kids have to be so _difficult?_

"Jay! Where's Fox?" Holly's anxious tone distracted him for a moment, and Ice took the chance to bite down hard on his hand and dart off.

Jay knew immediately that Ice had gone into the tunnel. "What do you think you're _doing_?!" Jay yelled at Holly. She was so pathetic! Couldn't she have looked after Fox herself, instead of trying to get him to do it when he was obviously busy with Ice? Now they were _both_ gone.

Holly was furious; Jay could sense it. "What am _I _doing? What are _you _doing, more like! You can't even keep control over one six year old, for crying out loud!"

"Oh really? Well, what happened to Fox then, if you're so great?"

"I'm sure he's around here somewhere."

"Well, he's nowhere near here – that's for sure!"

"How would you even know that? You're blind, for StarClan's sake!"

She had gone too far. Jay clenched his fists and shoved his face into hers, spitting his words out furiously. "Well I'm _sorry_ for being such a handful. I guess I'll just leave you alone, so you won't have to deal with a blind good-for-nothing lump like me!" pounding rain echoed in the silence that followed Jay's words, and he turned and stalked into the tunnel.

"Wait!" he heard Holly calling after him, but he didn't want to be near her. He'd prove to her that he wasn't useless! But first he had to find Fox and Ice.

It was obviously dark it the tunnel – he could feel the humidity of it pressing in on him – but that didn't bother Jay. He'd never seen colours before anyway; only in dreams.

On the subject of dreams – hadn't Ice said something about a dream? Back at camp? Jay had pretended he hadn't heard, but really it had worried him. What if it was important information? What if it could help them with the coming WindClan battle?

He picked up his pace. It was now even more important to find Ice, and ask her what she had dreamed about.

Eventually he found her, huddled with Fox in a tiny alcove in the side of a tunnel.

"Jay!" Fox squealed when he saw the older child, and folded Jay in hug. "Yep, it's good to see you too, Fox," Jay said uncomfortably.

Ice, however stayed in her corner, and Jay could feel her weariness.

"Ice?" Jay asked, kneeling in front of her. "Are you alright?"

She wanted to tell him what was up, Jay could tell, but something was holding her back. "I-it's nothing." She got up and took Fox's hand. "Can we just find Ferncloud, please?"

Jay narrowed his sightless eyes. "I know something's wrong, Ice."

"There's nothing wrong!" Ice protested weakly.

"Whatever," Jay rolled his eyes. "You'll have to tell me sooner or later."

He set off down the tunnel with the six-year olds in tail. They weren't far underground, for he could still hear the birds singing in the trees above, and the rain drumming the floor. Suddenly he felt guilty about leaving Holly up there. What if she caught pneumonia?

"Fox! Ice! Jay!" a shrill voice suddenly echoed through the tunnels, and Ferncloud came rushing up to greet them from the other side of the tunnel.

"Ferncloud?" Jay was confused. "But we heard you scream!"

Jay could feel her embarrassment. "I felt something brush against my leg, and it startled me. But then I realised it was just a cat." Something padded up to Jay and meowed. It brushed against Jay, and its fur was smooth and silky.

"She's a beautiful black she-cat, with startling green eyes," Ferncloud explained.

Even though he couldn't see her, something about the cat fascinated Jay. "It sounds like you're describing Holly," Jay murmured, as the cat meowed again. It even had the same demanding tones as his sister!

"She does look like Holly," Ferncloud confirmed. "Talking about Holly, where is she?"

Jay was wondering how to answer when a timid voice spoke out behind him. "I'm here," Holly said sheepishly.

Jay whirled around. "What are you doing here?!"

"I followed you from the tunnel entrance." Her voice suddenly rose in disbelief. "That cat _does_ look like me!"

A sudden though struck Jay. "How can you _see_ the cat? I thought it was dark."

"It _is_ dark. Ferncloud's got a flashlight."

"Oh," Jay was embarrassed. He should have thought of that!

Footsteps echoed through the tunnel as Ferncloud set off again. "Come on; we have to find our Clan-Mates!"

Guilt surged through Jay as he followed Ferncloud. How could he possibly have forgotten his Clan-Mates?

As they moved on, Jay became aware of the silence. Surely they should still be able to hear the rain?

However, as he opened his mouth to say something, a great rumbling shook the tunnel, like the growl of a tiger, but ten times louder. He was stood very still, trying to pinpoint the source of the sound, when a rock clocked him on the head. More fell next to him, smashing to the floor with a tremendous crashing sound.

"The roof's collapsing! Run!" Holly screeched, her voice filled with sheer terror as she dashed clumsily forwards.

Jay tried to run, but his senses were being scrambled by the noise, and he hit the wall with a sickening crunch. He was dimly aware of the Holly and Ferncloud desperately calling his name, and then everything faded to a darkness he had never experienced before. For it wasn't just his sight that wasn't functioning – it was his hearing and sense of smell as well. He was swimming in a senseless black sea.

Suddenly a voice echoed through the void. So he _could_ hear. "Jay," It called, the sound distorted as if it were travelling through a great mass of water. "Follow my voice, quickly."

His feet carried him unwillingly through the nothingness towards the source of the talking. Every step was difficult, as if he was struggling through dense, sticky mud.

Slowly the blackness faded into a picturesque forest scene. Birds sang. Sunlight filtered through a healthy green canopy of leaves to dapple a cluttered forest floor. Trees creaked and rustled in a gentle breeze. Quite unlike the stormy, muddy territory he called home.

"That's it, Jay," The voice, clearer now and definitely female, encouraged. "Just a little further."

Jay was too exhausted to feel annoyed at her patronising tone. Instead he carried on walking for what felt like 3 hours, until he finally broke through a cluster of leaves to see a woman waiting for him in a sunny clearing.

She was beautiful. Luscious brown hair tumbled down to her shoulders, and her face could have been that of an angel. (Don't hate. That's just how I imagine her in her human form.) "Welcome, Jay. My name is Spottedleaf."

"Why have you brought me here?"

"Can you handle the truth?"

Getting irritated, Jay snapped back grouchily "Of course I can. Just tell me."

Spottedleaf eyed him doubtfully. "Fine. Just remember; you asked for it." She stepped back and took a deep breath. "You were an inch away from dying back then, Jay. If one more rock had hit you, you would be in StarClan right now. I managed to save you before it got to that stage.

Jay's eyes widened. StarClan! StarClan was where everyone went when they died. They watched over the Clans and sent prophecies. Jay couldn't imagine going to join them, at least not until he had lived a long life.

"H-how did you save me?" Jay stuttered in disbelief. "And how come I can see?"

"All in good time, Jay. I am a member of StarClan – ask Firestar about me, he can surely tell you a thing or two. But that's not the only reason I brought you here – I have also come to warn you of great dangers ahead."

_Nothing could be worse than that tunnel, _Jay thought as Spottedleaf carried on.

"You and your siblings will face a greater destiny than most, Jay. Be prepared for it, because it will not be easy."


End file.
